Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Calypso:

A: Thick, creamy tan head that lingers. Opaque black in color.S: Sweet vanilla and burnt sugar. High in dark malt aroma.T: Overwhelming vanilla flavor followed by dark coffee. Vanilla is strong and distracting, like when I spilled too much vanilla in my oatmeal. There are probably malt flavors hidden back there somewhere.* M: Good texture, medium body with appropriate (low) carbonation.* O: No secondary characteristics worth mentioning. A one-trick pony. Would not order again.

Bought a six-pack on sale at my local Meijer store. The beer is very dark, looks black in a dim room, however when placed under light, it shows a bit of brown. Faint tan head that doesn't hang around for very long and leaves little to no lacing on the glass. The beer looks "thin" - I've certainly seen better looking porters.

The smell is nice, however it isn't very powerful. Caramel and vanilla are the main things that hit the nose when you finally do get a nice whiff. Maybe a little bit of cocoa powder on the back-end, but surprisingly, there isn't very much coffee, despite being a part "java" porter. Somewhat disappointing, although the aroma is still pretty good.

Vanilla takes over most of the taste. You can sit there and probably pick out some grains and malts and maybe even a touch of coffee, but vanilla is mostly what you're tasting. Not complex at all, and I feel like more flavors SHOULD be here, but they went a little too far on the vanilla profile. The beer felt as thin as it looked and had quite a bit of carbonation (almost too much) that was a little bit distracting.

Overall, one of the better Atwater brew's I've had, but in my experience with them - that really isn't saying too much. Definitely worth a try at least one time, but there are certainly better vanilla flavored porters out there.

This is a nice novelty beer. Very dark with just a small head that disipates pretty quickly. Medium body. Nice aroma presages the full flavors, with only minimal hoppiness. As advertised, it comes through with a complex array of coffee and chocolate with a vanilla finish. My personal bias is toward hoppy beers, but this was a pleasant switch from the routine on a cold winter night.

A: Very dark, nearly black with a creamy light brown head. Good retention and moderate lacing.

S: Malts on the nose with a mild coffee aroma.

T: Mild but sweet maltiness is first on the tongue, with the light coffee flavors coming through just moments later. I couldn't specifically taste the vanilla in the brew but I can certainly pick out the effects - the general smoothness and blending of flavors is great. Nothing jumps out and screams for attention here, but that's kind of what makes this good. Everything plays together nicely and just has an enjoyable mildness to it.

M&D: Mouthfeel is generally good but just a little bit thin on the tongue after a few seconds. Don't get me wrong, I really liked this but compared to other porters, this one is just a little thin. As for drinkability, this goes down so smooth and easy that I could enjoy several in a row before considering something else. Give this one a try. Good stuff.

Appearance was dark, but with a reddish tinge when held up to the light.Smelled of very strong vanilla with a slight hint of coffee.First sensation of taste was a sharp almost sour feel on the tongue combined with a bit of bitterness. Immediately followed by a vanilla taste with a bit of coffee. As the beer lingers the vanilla and coffee flavors flipflop in intensity, almost like an inverse relationship. The beer finishes with a very smooth coffee taste.

One of the few beers I was able to try while serving as a captain of volunteers at the American Beer Fest in Boston. Enjoyed it so much I contacted the brewery and distributors to see if it was available in Massachusetts. Found it at Kappy's in Wellington Circle and grabbed a six pack.

I love a beer that delivers what it advertises. The vanilla extract is very nice, not too sweet or over the top, but provides flavor. The sweetness mixed with the coffee beans makes this a simple, yet special beer. Highly enjoyable beer to drink.

served into a nonic glass from a 12 oz. brown long neck bottle with crimped-on cap.

Opaque,black slightist reddish hue when held to light. 4" thick, very creamy, head light tan towards white,dissapated quickly to 1/2 layer of foam.

Moderate aromas mostly of roasted coffee,a burnt wood aroma also,not a much of a vanilla scent if any. Nothing here to get me excited about tasting this beer.

Tastes of roasted coffee,chocolaty, tastes of smoke from a wood fire,a hint of vanillia.Clean,quick sharp bitter finish. Bits of tartness throughout.
Not a bad tasting beer, just very predictiable and uninteresting.

Meduim bodied, towards light for a porter. Smooth, good drinkability,easy going, just not a lot of reason for sessions. An average porter,nothing fancy,very predictable. Not a much of a vanilla presence as expected from the label. Not a bad beer. I think I just expected a little more from this offering.